The Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC)

The Renewable Energy Consumer Code, usually shortened to RECC, is a set of rules that a business selling or leasing small-scale renewable and low carbon heating or power equipment agrees to follow when it deals with a household¹. It was formed in 2006 and is backed by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute as part of a self-regulation initiative, the Consumer Codes Approval Scheme². It is administered by Renewable Energy Assurance Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology, which sponsors the Code⁴.

What it gives a household is not a product guarantee. It is a framework for how the sale is conducted and how problems are handled: clear information on the system and its performance, acceptable sales and marketing techniques, rules on deposits and advance payments, and after-sales arrangements including guarantees and workmanship warranties⁶. It also runs a complaints handling service and an independent arbitration service⁷.

The practical reason most people meet RECC is that MCS members must be registered with a Consumer Code approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, and RECC is one of them⁸. RECC describes itself as the largest CTSI approved consumer code within the industry⁹.

What the Code covers, and who has to follow it

The Code sets standards for the selling or leasing of small-scale heat and power generators, whether from renewable or other low carbon sources, to domestic consumers³. Its stated purpose is to promote small-scale renewables in the domestic consumer sector, and to help consumers get advice on generation solutions without being subjected to negative marketing or sales tactics¹.

The technologies in scope are broad: solar power for electricity and hot water, wind and hydro power for electricity, biomass such as wood for heat, heat pumps from all sources, and combined heat and power from biomass, gas or oil⁷. In April 2017 RECC announced that the Code extends to battery storage systems and other related products typically sold alongside solar panels¹³.

Members are firms selling or leasing small-scale renewable or low carbon heat or power generation units who have agreed to comply with the Code¹. Any business selling, leasing or installing small-scale heat and power generators to domestic consumers is eligible to join¹⁴. RECC has members throughout the whole of the UK, so the same code applies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland⁷.

The relationship with MCS matters. MCS members must be registered with a Consumer Code approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, of which RECC is one⁸. RECC's own consumer guidance puts it plainly: an installer should be both a member of RECC and accredited by MCS¹⁵. The two do different jobs. MCS certifies the installer and the product for a technology; RECC governs the conduct of the sale and the after-sales relationship. The Code also dovetails with MCS and links closely to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme installer and product certification scheme³.

What the rules require of a member firm

The Code is monitored against ten key compliance areas: awareness of consumer protection and RECC including staff training; the Microgeneration Certification Scheme; marketing and selling; estimates and quotes, particularly performance estimates and financial incentives; finance agreements; contracts and cancellation rights; taking and protection of deposits and advanced payments; completing the installation; after-sales including guarantees, workmanship warranties and customer service; and complaints numbers, handling and procedures¹⁶.

Some of the individual rules are specific enough to be worth knowing before a visit. Sales staff must not use high-pressure selling techniques, which the Code describes as including staying in your home for an unreasonably long time, a high initial price followed by a discount, a discount for signing on the day, withholding price information until the end of the visit, and claiming limited availability of a product⁷. Members must give a written estimate of how the system will perform in an accepted format, and that estimate must make clear whether it is specific to the property or based on a standard or average premises⁷. Any proposal must give a clear description of the system being offered and how it will work, and must explain any side effects of the system in terms of noise, heat radiation, electro-magnetic radiation or anything else⁷.

The Code also requires that consumers have full information about the upfront costs, the running costs and the expected performance before they agree to buy or lease, in an easy-to-understand format¹. RECC's own consumer guidance is to get at least three quotes before deciding to contract with a business⁷.

Cancellation rights and deposit protection

Two areas of the Code do most of the work when a sale goes wrong: the cooling-off period and the protection of money paid up front.

Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and the E-Commerce Regulations 2002, consumers have the unconditional right to cancel an order fourteen working days after receipt of the last item of goods for telephone, mail order, fax, digital TV and internet purchases⁴. Where a sales representative signed the contract in your home, RECC's consumer guidance describes the right as running from when you signed the contract up to 14 days from the date the goods are delivered⁷. If installation is to start during that cancellation period, the Code requires express written consent, and a tick box or a pro forma is not sufficient; if the contract is later cancelled, the householder must pay for any work completed⁷. Where the purchase is financed, there is a separate 14 day period from the date the documentation from the finance provider is received, cancellable without penalty⁷.

On money, members are obliged to protect money paid in advance of an installation, including the deposit, in case they go out of business⁷. The Code's own wording is that members must protect any deposit and any further advance payment so that, if they fall into receivership, administration or bankruptcy before the contract is completed, the consumer can have the contract completed at no additional cost by another Code member¹⁰. Members can place funds in a client or other third-party account or use the protected payment scheme arranged for members, and deposits and advance payments must be insured¹⁰. Deposits or advance payments cannot exceed 60 per cent of the estimated overall cost¹⁸.

What the warranty covers, and what it does not

This is the point most often misunderstood. RECC is not an insurer. Its own consumer page states: "Please note that RECC is not an insurance company. We are the administrator of the Renewable Energy Consumer Code"¹³.

What the Code requires is that members provide an insurance backed workmanship warranty, valid for at least 2 years⁷. Members must also protect the workmanship guarantee in case they should go out of business⁷. The Code's model documents include a Model Contract, Model Cancellation Notices, Model Workmanship Guarantee and guidance on battery storage linked to solar PV⁴. One approved product listed for MCS financial protection is Small-Scale Renewable Energy System Warranty Insurance¹⁹.

The distinction that matters for a household is between the workmanship warranty and the manufacturer's warranty on the equipment. The Code governs the standard of installation and other on-site work, and the guarantees and after-sales services needed afterwards⁶. It does not extend the manufacturer's warranty on a heat pump, a battery or an inverter, and it does not insure the equipment against fault or theft. The Code covers pre-sales activity, contracts, completing the order, and after-sales activities including guarantees, maintenance and service agreements⁷.

The Code's scope of what is funded is set out as marketing, pre-contractual information, quotations, deposits, contracts, guarantees and after-sales service³. That is a description of the stages of the transaction the Code reaches, not a list of things RECC pays for.

What it costs a household, and what it costs a member

There is no charge to a householder for being covered by the Code. The costs that appear in RECC's rules fall on businesses. Where a matter goes to a hearing before the Non-Compliance Panel, RECC and the Code Member may apply for costs in respect of that hearing, and RECC's investigation costs are charged at £65 an hour under clause 10 of the Bye-Laws¹⁶. Where a complaint goes to the CEDR Solve independent arbitration scheme, RECC will pay the balance¹².

The Code's own consumer guidance is to get at least three quotes before deciding to contract with a business, which is a cost in time rather than money⁷. Prices for the systems themselves are installer-quoted; the Code does not set or publish them.

Membership numbers give a sense of scale. In 2020 RECC received 362 new membership applications and had 1,670 members, closely monitoring 470 of them¹¹. That year it helped recover £28,060 for consumers, equal to an average of £351 for each complaint RECC handled, and asked 10 members to respond to breaches of the Code or Bye-Laws¹¹. Earlier figures show how the market has moved: membership peaked at 5,500 in 2012 and fell to 4,500 in 2013, a year in which an average of 130 new complaints were registered with RECC each month¹⁴. RECC reported at its height having 5,500 members⁹.

Status: approved, monitored, and not a regulator

RECC is a CTSI-approved Consumer Code, with the Code Administrator assessed against core criteria established by CTSI⁴. It received TSI approval under the Consumer Codes Approval Scheme on 1 April 2013¹⁴. In 2017 it was approved by TrustMark as a new scheme operator for businesses involved in renewables and related home improvement and energy efficiency sectors²⁰. RECC describes itself as one of only two companies meeting Chartered Trading Standards Institute approved consumer code requirements in the renewables market²¹.

The Code is monitored and updated regularly to reflect appropriate business practice, and the Code Administrator publishes the results of that monitoring in an annual report made available to Code Members, CTSI and on the website⁴. The Code has recently been amended, with a full list of amendments and their purpose set out in a separate table document⁸. The current published version is Version 8, published on 5 July 2023, with a publication date of 1 July 2026 for the current document²².

Two limits on its authority are worth stating plainly. Neither the Code Sponsor nor the Code Administrator is a party to any contract covered by the Code, so RECC is not your counterparty⁴. And RECC is not an insurance company¹³. Its leverage comes from membership conditions, monitoring, and the Non-Compliance Panel, whose rules require that the majority of Panel Members, including the Chair, should be independent of the domestic small-scale renewable or low carbon heat or power generator sector¹⁶.

The Code's reach into a member's affairs extends to insolvency. The Code defines becoming insolvent or ceasing to trade to include suspension or threat of suspension of debt payments, being deemed unable to pay debts under section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or section 268 for individuals, commencing negotiations with creditors to reschedule debts, a petition or resolution for winding up, an application or order for the appointment of an administrator, an administrative receiver, a receiver, a creditor attaching assets where the process is not discharged within 10 days, and suspending or ceasing or threatening to suspend or cease a substantial part of the business⁴.

Complaints, arbitration and what actually gets recovered

RECC operates a complaints handling service and an independent arbitration service⁷. Its consumer guidance states that members agree to uphold high standards of consumer protection and that RECC runs dispute resolution if needed²³. Pressure selling can be reported to RECC on 020 7981 0850²³. The general contact number is 0207 981 0850 and the email address is info@recc.org.uk²¹. Ofgem's guidance for the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive also directs people to RECC among the contacts for the scheme²⁴.

As part of its work RECC monitors how satisfied consumers are with the service they have received and checks that member companies are complying with the Code, and it publishes the results of its survey on its website and in its annual report²¹. The Code's monitoring is structured around the ten key compliance areas¹⁶.

The recovery figures are modest in absolute terms but they show the mechanism working. In 2020 RECC helped recover £28,060 for consumers, an average of £351 per complaint handled, and asked 10 members to respond to breaches of the Code or Bye-Laws¹¹. The Non-Compliance Panel can apply sanctions under the Bye-Laws, and costs can be awarded in respect of a hearing¹⁶.

A worked example from the Panel's published decisions shows what a serious case looks like. One member, Solar Power Scotland Ltd, had 107 complaints against it, which was the highest number of complaints the Regulator had received about any member of the Code, and was found to have breached the Code through use of the Regulator's logo to persuade non-domestic consumers to purchase services¹⁸. The same decision records that no deposits or advance payment can exceed 60 per cent of the estimated overall cost¹⁸.

What it means for a household's energy independence

A consumer code does not generate a single kilowatt hour, and it does not reduce a household's dependence on the grid, a supplier or an app. What it does is change the risk profile of the transaction that puts generation on your roof or a heat pump in your garden. That matters for independence because the largest single barrier to a household generating its own power is not the technology, it is the fear of a bad installation and a firm that disappears.

The Code addresses that fear in three specific ways. It requires full information about upfront costs, running costs and expected performance before a contract is agreed, so a household can judge the payback on its own terms¹. It requires deposit and advance payment protection, so money paid before installation is not simply lost if the firm fails⁷. And it requires an insurance backed workmanship warranty of at least 2 years, so the installation itself can be put right by another Code member at no additional cost⁷.

The dependence that remains is on the member firm's compliance and on the continuing existence of the scheme. RECC is a self-regulatory body sponsored by an industry association, not a government regulator, and it is not a party to the contract⁴. Its authority rests on membership conditions and on the willingness of installers to stay in the scheme, which in turn rests on the MCS requirement that certified installers belong to a CTSI-approved consumer code⁸.

For a household weighing up a purchase, the practical position is that RECC membership is a baseline condition rather than a guarantee. It tells you the firm has accepted a set of rules on quoting, deposits, cancellation and after-sales, and that there is a complaints route if those rules are not followed. It does not tell you the equipment will perform as estimated, and it does not insure the equipment. The wider landscape of installer schemes and consumer codes is covered in installer schemes and consumer codes, and the certification side in MCS explained.